A tribute to the tributes- Hunger Games
by Oi opakio
Summary: From District thirteen, I present to you the TV series 'A tribute to the tributes'. So many un-told stories, well, here they are, told by friends and relatives, honoring the deceased.


**Hello people. I have looked on fanfiction for any stories like this, because I thought there would be, but apparently not. This is going to be a oneshot series with characters we know and characters we don't. I'm basically going thorough un-named tributes and telling their story, as well as those who we know. Enjoy xxx**

"Residents of Panem. I speak to you about my sister. Everyone's lost someone in their lives, but once I'm done speaking, maybe you'll realize just how irreplaceable Rue is to me.

She was my sister. She _is _my sister; nothing will ever change that. And she was everything a sister should be: kind, gentle, but ready to stand up for me when I needed it.

Like the time under-eighteens got free bananas on reaping day. Then I was only nine and _so_ easy to push around. Some boys stole my fruit, ran away with it, ran away with the only thing which would stop my stomach hurting so bad.

When Rue found out, she was fuming. This was a year before the 74th Hunger Games, so she was only eleven, but she found those two boys, both over fourteen, and snatched my food back before they knew what was happening.

We spent that blissful afternoon in the treetops, savoring every last bit of the creamy fruit we'd only ever tasted before in moderation. We spoke about anything and everything, so different from the rushed exchange of words we usually were forced to have. Of course, the next day things were back to normal: picking fruit, cleaning fruit, eating leftover _fruit._

Rue was always beautiful in my eyes.

Do you know what it feels like to savor every moment you spend with someone? Do you know how much it hurts to be dragged away, never to see them again?

The last time I saw my sister, felt her arms around me; her lips on my forehead was on the reaping day.

Until I saw her standing so alone in the room, it hadn't sunk in that _my sister _was in the Hunger Games. My sister had a one-way ticket to an early death.

She didn't cry, but I did. I did enough crying for both of us, enclosed protectively in her arms. We were about the same size, but Rue had always felt taller and stronger than me. I was lulled into false sense of security.

"Elissa," she whispered urgently, "don't cry. I'll be fine; everything will be fine!" Her comforting words only made my sobs stronger, because I knew she'd never be there to comfort me when I cried again.

That was all the time we got. Just then, a peacekeeper entered and dragged me, kicking and screaming, out of the room. My last memory of Rue's face is of her shining eyes and a small, forced smile, the picture dusted in red from my fury.

* * *

I didn't watch the Hunger Games that year.

Whenever it aired I'd squeeze my eyes shut and cover my ears. My Mother on the other hand was glued to the screen like a drug. Her eyes were fixated however much I pleaded for her to acknowledge me.

The day Rue went she broke. My ever-standing mother, who'd brought the family so far, had finally cracked and left us to pick up the pieces.

I didn't blame her- still don't- but it was hard. It was hard to make a substantial living and work eight hours a day at a physically demanding task. It was harder still for Root, my older brother, looking after a year old baby. But somehow we managed.

I knew, as soon as I walked into the room that Rue had died. Mother lay motionless on the floor. Her precious pottery, which had been in the family for generations, was shattered, blood staining the floor and my Mother's hands.

Root reassured me she wasn't dead, but it took a while for us to clean her up.

That evening, I watched the highlights for the first time that year. It seemed the right thing to know how she died.

_I _felt the net enclosing her body. _I _felt the panic when she realized she couldn't escape, and the hoarseness of her throat after screaming for Katniss endlessly. And when Katniss came, _I _felt the spear taking her life.

* * *

To Katniss I am forever indebted. She honored a fallen tribute in a way never seen in any previous Games. She wrapped my sister in the last shred of beauty left in that arena. I don't mean the flowers; I mean love.

* * *

Rue didn't deserve to die. She had done no wrong to anyone before. She was the light to all my family in the dark mess of this world. The Capitol and its greed snuffed out that light.

Don't join them. I beg you, for the sake of you, your loved ones and all who mean good in this world, help us fix this broken planet.

Help us light the candle.

* * *

**Did you like it? Hate it? I want to know what you think, so please review, even if it's just a word; that makes a difference :). Who do you want me to write about next? **


End file.
